PAW Against Trafficking Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6043 To reduce illegal wildlife trafficking and importation by extending State Department reporting on foreign wildlife trafficking activity, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 2, 2020 Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To reduce illegal wildlife trafficking and importation by ex- tending State Department reporting on foreign wildlife trafficking activity, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting All Wildlife 4 Against Trafficking Act’’ or the ‘‘PAW Against Traf- 5 ficking Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6043.IH H6043 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6043 IH (1) Wildlife and plants, and endangered species 1 in particular, are threatened by illegal trafficking ac- 2 tivities around the world. 3 (2) Preserving endangered wildlife is critical to 4 maintaining a diverse global ecosystem. 5 (3) Illegal wildlife trafficking magnifies the 6 harm to our environment caused by pollution, defor- 7 estation, and other human activity. 8 (4) The State Department can play a critical 9 role in increasing awareness by travelers about ille- 10 gal wildlife trafficking activity, and can in turn re- 11 duce illicit importation of endangered, threatened, or 12 otherwise illegal wildlife products. 13 (5) Reporting on wildlife trafficking by the 14 State Department, and strategy and coordination ac- 15 tivities by the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife 16 Trafficking should be extended to ensure that the 17 United States remains a leader on wildlife conserva- 18 tion into the future. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6043.IH H6043 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6043 IH SEC. 3. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ANNUAL STATE DE- 1 PARTMENT REPORTING ON INTERNATIONAL 2 WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING AND INCREASING 3 PUBLIC AWARENESS OF SUCH REPORTING. 4 (a) Section 201 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and 5 Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act (16 U.S.C. 7621) is 6 amended by— 7 (1) striking subsection (c); and 8 (2) inserting at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(c) WEBSITE.—On any State Department website 10 or web-based application providing country-specific infor- 11 mation for international travel, the Secretary of State 12 shall ensure that any country listed as a focus country 13 or a country of concern in the most recent publication of 14 the annual report required by section 201 of the Elimi- 15 nate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act (16 16 U.S.C. 7621) is clearly identified with a color-highlighted 17 warning label. 18 ‘‘(d) WARNING LABEL.—Any focus country or coun- 19 try of concern label displayed pursuant to subsection (c) 20 shall be accompanied by a warning that international law 21 or U.S. law may prohibit the export, import, purchase, 22 sale, possession, or transport of products produced from 23 endangered or threatened wildlife. The Secretary of State 24 shall determine the appropriate nature of the warning to 25 be displayed pursuant to this subsection.’’. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6043.IH H6043 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6043 IH SEC. 4. REMOVING TERMINATION OF AUTHORIZATION FOR 1 PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON WILDLIFE 2 TRAFFICKING AND REQUIRING ADDITIONAL 3 ITEM FOR STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. 4 Section 301 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Dis- 5 rupt Wildlife Trafficking Act (16 U.S.C. 7631) is amend- 6 ed by— 7 (1) striking subsection (e); 8 (2) inserting the following after paragraph (3) 9 of subsection (d): 10 ‘‘(4) an assessment on how consumption of ille- 11 gally tracked wildlife in the United States may be 12 driving illegal wildlife trafficking in focus countries, 13 and potential strategies to reduce domestic consump- 14 tion of illegally trafficked wildlife products’’; and 15 (3) redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) of 16 subsection (d) as paragraphs (5) and (6). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6043.IH H6043 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS